This page is about schools in England. It does not cover Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland.
The current conditions of grant
The pupil premium conditions of grant for the 2026 to 2027 financial year and the 2026 to 2027 technical note were updated on 23 September 2026. The section references below are to those editions. The grant is for improving disadvantaged pupils’ educational outcomes: schools must use it to accelerate their progress and raise attainment (conditions, section 1.2).
The DfE’s pupil premium overview and Using pupil premium: guidance for school leaders were updated on 24 August 2026. The latter is non-statutory guidance; its ‘The menu of approaches’ and ‘Reporting on pupil premium’ sections explain spending and publication.
Who attracts pupil premium?
Allocations cover eligible pupils in reception to year 11 in the settings listed in the conditions, section 2.1. Sixth-form provision in schools and academies is excluded. Some colleges enrolling pupils aged 14 to 16 full-time can receive funding under the arrangements in that section.
- Free school meals (FSM) Ever 6: pupils recorded as eligible for FSM now or in the past 6 years (conditions, section 2.2.1). For mainstream and special schools, the allocation uses the October 2025 census and recorded FSM eligibility since and including January 2020. For pupil referral units and alternative provision academies, it uses the January 2026 census and eligibility since and including May 2020 (technical note, section 2.1).
- Previously looked-after children (PLAC): children looked after by a local authority or other state care immediately before adoption, or who left that care on a special guardianship or child arrangements order. This includes adoption from state care or its equivalent outside England and Wales (conditions, section 2.2.1).
- Looked-after children (LAC): children in the care of, or provided with accommodation by, an English local authority. Funding goes to the local authority, which decides how much to pass to the school (conditions, section 2.2.1).
The LAC and PLAC portions are known as pupil premium plus. Local authorities also receive funding for eligible pupils in independent settings where the authority pays full tuition fees (conditions, section 2.2.1).
Free school meals: targeted and expanded eligibility
From the start of the 2026 to 2027 academic year, FSM eligibility includes all pupils from households receiving Universal Credit. For Universal Credit households, targeted FSM covers annual household earnings of £7,400 or less; expanded FSM covers earnings above that threshold and provides meals only. Other routes to targeted FSM are set out in the DfE’s free school meals guidance, updated 7 October 2026, under ‘Targeted FSM’ and ‘Expanded FSM’.
Expanded FSM eligibility alone does not attract pupil premium. Benefits linked to FSM, including pupil premium, remain based on targeted FSM (conditions, section 2.2.1). Pupils eligible before the expansion remain in the Ever 6 cohort for 6 years, including where household income increases and they move to expanded FSM or lose FSM eligibility (overview, ‘Implications of the free school meals expansion on pupil premium’).
Universal infant free school meals cover all pupils in reception, year 1 and year 2 in state-funded schools. This is separate from targeted FSM eligibility (free school meals guidance, ‘Eligibility criteria for free school meals’).
Per-pupil rates for 2026–27
These are annual rates for the 2026 to 2027 financial year, from the technical note, section 3:
- FSM Ever 6, reception to year 6: £1,550.
- FSM Ever 6, years 7 to 11: £1,100.
- Looked-after children: £2,690.
- Previously looked-after children: £2,690.
- Service pupil premium, reception to year 11: £360.
General hospital schools use a separate calculation: £1,100 per eligible full-time-equivalent pupil recorded as FSM-eligible in the January 2026 school-level annual school census (technical note, section 7).
A pupil recorded as LAC or PLAC and FSM Ever 6 attracts the LAC or PLAC amount only. Eligible service children attract service pupil premium in addition to any other pupil premium eligibility rate (technical note, section 3).
How pupil premium is paid
The grant follows the financial year, 1 April to 31 March, while the strategy statement describes spending for the academic year (using pupil premium guidance, ‘Checking your allocation and payments’ and ‘Format of the template’).
DfE pays academies and non-maintained special schools directly. Local authorities receive funding for maintained schools and must pass it on in a timely manner under their scheme for financing schools (conditions, sections 2.2.1 and 3.4). The standard payment timetable is quarterly (conditions, section 3.2). General hospital school funding is calculated at £1,100 per eligible full-time-equivalent pupil and paid in a single payment in June 2026 (technical note, section 7):
- Local authorities: 30 June 2026; 30 September 2026; 31 December 2026; 31 March 2027.
- Academies: 8 July 2026; 8 October 2026; 11 January 2027; 8 April 2027.
- Non-maintained special schools: 18 August 2026; 16 October 2026; 18 January 2027; 16 April 2027.
The academy and non-maintained special school instalments depend on the opening dates specified in the section 3.2 timetable. Opening, closure and conversion arrangements are in the technical note, section 6.
How schools may spend pupil premium
Schools, including local authority virtual schools, must use pupil premium, excluding service pupil premium, on evidence-informed activities within DfE’s menu of approaches (conditions, section 4.1). The menu in the using pupil premium guidance follows the EEF’s tiered approach:
- High-quality teaching: teaching, assessment and curriculum; professional development; mentoring and coaching; recruitment and retention; technology supporting teaching.
- Targeted academic support: individual and small-group tuition; peer tutoring; language, literacy and numeracy interventions; support for disadvantaged pupils with SEND; teaching assistant deployment and interventions; extended school time, including summer schools.
- Wider strategies: social, emotional and behavioural support; attendance; enrichment; breakfast clubs and meals; communication and support for parents.
Source: using pupil premium guidance, ‘The menu of approaches’. The conditions say high-quality teaching should be a top priority when balancing spending, reflecting the EEF recommendation. The balance depends on pupils’ needs and the size of the eligible cohort; schools do not have to fund every approach (conditions, section 4.1).
Pupil premium can support other pupils with identified needs and whole-class interventions that also benefit non-disadvantaged pupils. It can benefit eligible pupils at other state-funded schools. It can also fund community services whose provision benefits eligible pupils at the setting (conditions, section 4). Trusts may pool funding, but must accommodate each academy’s disadvantaged pupils’ needs (conditions, section 4).
Pupil premium is not a personal budget. For looked-after children, the virtual school head works with the school on evidence-informed interventions linked to the personal education plan. Centrally retained funding cannot pay for services the local authority is responsible for, such as foster-carer support, uniforms or transport to school. For previously looked-after children, the school is responsible for evidence-informed support and can direct spending where need is greatest (conditions, sections 4.2–4.3).
Schools may carry funding forward, using the conditions for the financial year in which it is spent and accounting for it in that academic year’s strategy statement (conditions, section 5.1).
Strategy statement: what to publish and when
Schools whose 2026 to 2027 allocation is based on more than 5 eligible pupils must publish an updated strategy statement on their website by 31 December 2026, using the DfE strategy statement template. Pupils eligible only for service pupil premium are excluded from that count. Schools with 5 or fewer eligible pupils are not required to publish a statement (conditions, section 5.2.1; using pupil premium guidance, ‘Reporting on pupil premium’).
The DfE template contains:
- School and funding overviews: pupil numbers, eligible proportion, the period covered, publication and review dates, named leads, allocation, carry-forward and total budget.
- Part A — strategy plan: intent, challenges, intended outcomes and success criteria, planned activity under the menu’s teaching, targeted support and wider strategies, evidence and budgeted costs.
- Part B — review of the previous academic year: outcomes for disadvantaged pupils, including reference to performance measures data. The template also includes externally provided programmes and optional service pupil premium reporting.
Sources: the template’s ‘School overview’, ‘Funding overview’, ‘Part A: Pupil premium strategy plan’ and ‘Part B: Review of the previous academic year’; using pupil premium guidance, ‘Format of the template’.
A multi-year strategy still needs an annual review and updated published statement. Each academy in a trust must publish separately even where funding is pooled (using pupil premium guidance, ‘Publishing your strategy’; conditions, section 5.2.1). Governors and trustees should scrutinise the planned spending, use of funding and previous outcomes. Schools must keep clear income and expenditure records, including evidence of how funds were used (conditions, sections 5.2–5.2.1).
Service pupil premium
The £360 service rate supports eligible pupils in reception to year 11 (technical note, section 3). Eligibility includes:
- a parent serving in the regular armed forces, including full commitment on the full-time reserve service, or in another nation’s armed forces stationed in England, with the pupil registered as a service child in the most recent autumn census;
- a pupil without current service-child status who was registered as a service child on any DfE school census in the past 6 years;
- a parent who died while serving, where the pupil receives a pension under the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme or War Pensions Scheme.
Source: conditions, section 2.2.2. For the allocation’s census periods, see the technical note, section 2.4.
Its main purpose is pastoral support, including mitigating the effects of family mobility or parental deployment. Schools can use it for academic progress where they judge that a priority. Service pupil premium is outside the menu-of-approaches requirement; reporting its use and impact in the strategy statement is optional (conditions, sections 4.5 and 5.2.1).
Related reading and leadership preparation
Read our article on the Education Endowment Foundation’s pupil premium resources, alongside the attendance guide and SEND guide.
Prepare for leadership with the headteacher interview guide and headteacher role page. Use the School Leader Planner® to organise strategy reviews and governing board discussions.
